Constitution of 1851
In the 1840s, a crisis in the state due to overspending caused the state to become insolvent. The situation, and the call for constitutional change to prevent a reoccurrence of the events, finally made the idea of a new constitution popular among the public. In response to the growing criticism, a constitutional referendum was held in 1850, two years before the required twelve-year referendum. The vote came out 81,500 for and 57,418 against reforming the constitution. That year the Indiana General Assembly passed legislation to provide for the election of 150 delegates, with representation from each county and apportioned according to the district makeup of the state, to be elected to attend a convention to write a new state constitution.
Read more about this topic: Constitution Of Indiana
Famous quotes containing the words constitution of and/or constitution:
“What we learn for the sake of knowing, we hold; what we learn for the sake of accomplishing some ulterior end, we forget as soon as that end has been gained. This, too, is automatic action in the constitution of the mind itself, and it is fortunate and merciful that it is so, for otherwise our minds would be soon only rubbish-rooms.”
—Anna C. Brackett (1836–1911)
“At present the globe goes with a shattered constitution in its orbit.... No doubt the simple powers of nature, properly directed by man, would make it healthy and a paradise; as the laws of man’s own constitution but wait to be obeyed, to restore him to health and happiness.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)